What Shamil Gasanov did with his $50,000 performance bonus after ONE Championship debut

Shamil Gasanov revealed what he spent his $50,000 performance bonus on.

In October 2022, the next chapter of Gasanov’s fighting career started at ONE on Prime Video 3. The undefeated Russian made his promotional debut against the always-dangerous Kim Jae Woong. Going into the fight, ‘The Cobra’ was well-respected but also needed to validate his hype.

More than two minutes into his ONE Championship debut, Gasanov secured an impressive first-round rear-naked choke against Kim. As a result, ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong awarded him a $50,000 performance bonus. Several months later, ‘The Cobra’ did an interview with the promotion and had this to say about how he spent the money:

“I was very pleased that Chatri appreciated the fight. As I had intended, I gave the bonus to my parents. I didn't spend any of it. With my fight money, I flew back to Thailand with my coach to prepare for the new fight. My parents were cool about the money, but the other relatives talked about it for a long time. My parents, I think, haven't even spent any of the money on themselves yet. They didn't even want to take it.”

It likely won’t be the last time Gasanov gets a performance bonus. Through thirteen professional fights, the undefeated Russian has only needed the judges twice. He has another opportunity to impress the ONE Chairman and CEO with an upcoming fight against former two-division world champion Martin Nguyen at ONE Fight Night 7 on Prime Video.

The event is set for February 24, US primetime, at the iconic Lumpinee Boxing Stadium and will be broadcast live and for free to all Prime Video subscribers in North America.

Watch Shamil Gasanov defeat Kim Jae Woong below:

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Martin Nguyen sends a warning to Shamil Gasanov ahead of their upcoming clash at ONE Fight Night 7

Martin Nguyen isn’t happy about Shamil Gasanov potentially overlooking him. Gasanov is riding high after his dominant performance debut. Meanwhile, Nguyen is coming off a disappointing first-round loss to Ilya Freymanov in September 2022. During an interview with ONE Championship, ‘The Situ-Asian’ had this to say:

“I feel like he’s going to come out and underestimate me. Try to stalk me down and I do what I do best. I’ll counter his strikes and I’ll knock him out.”

Shamil Gasanov would be making a massive mistake by underestimating Martin Nguyen. The former two-division world champion has the power and experience to give any featherweight problems. The ranked featherweight matchup goes down on February 24 at ONE Fight Night 7, which can be watched for free by North American Prime Video subscribers.